


Troc and the Rock Giant

by moosefrog



Series: Raven-borne Messages [6]
Category: The Hobbit - All Media Types
Genre: Gen, Ravens of Erebor - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-11-10
Updated: 2017-11-10
Packaged: 2019-01-31 07:58:52
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,197
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12677697
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/moosefrog/pseuds/moosefrog
Summary: Elrond asks Troc to tell him the tale of her encounter with a rock giant. Troc does her best! Elrond regrets everything that has led up to the point in time where he listens to a bratty tween raven try to tell a tale of excitement and derring-do. Make better life choices, Elrond.





	Troc and the Rock Giant

**Author's Note:**

> Someday I will write like a serious writer-type person. Today is not that day. Thank you to [medusine](http://archiveofourown.org/users/medusine/works) for her beta!

"Please bide the night and I shall have a response for you to carry back to Erebor in the morning, Troc." Elrond tucked the message into his sleeve then settled back in his chair. "And, perhaps now that you have eaten, you can regale me with the tale of your encounter with a rock giant?"

Troc felt she was not finished eating but as there was only that guggccckkkgh left on the plate (PRESSED BEAN BIRBS or was it curds? BIRBS was much more disturbing!) she had to concede she wouldn't be eating _any more_ of what had been offered.

"Troc flew real high over the mountains! Old squawk-songs told Troc where to fly!"

Elrond immediately began to feel regret for asking for the story. It appeared Troc was not as fluent in Westron as an older bird might have been. He tried to follow the story, and fill in details in his head, as best as he could.

"Troc saw something shiny on the mountain!" She hopped excitedly then made a disgusted noise in the back of her throat. "Guuccckkkgsshhhh! Orcksh were dumping gobbo dead off the mountain. NOBODY wanna eat dead gobbo! Not even gobbo eyeballs are good for eats!"

"Mm yes, I imagine that is so," Elrond murmured. He hadn't known ravens were so discerning when it came to scavenging. Was it just the ravens of Ravenhill or all ravens who felt that way? He felt most eyeballs were not 'good for eats' but that would be one of many differences between elves and ravens. Well, between most elves and ravens.

Troc marched around the table because she was so full of emotion it was impossible to keep still. "Orcksh Troc's enemies! Troc wanted to hurt orcksh but Troc is too small! Troc needed a big army! Or," she bobbed her head and looked crafty, "Troc needed a big hunter."

"Troc flew high in big circles but there was no big hunters! Then Troc saw a mountain move! A MOUNTAIN!" She stopped her marching to throw her wings up in the air to emphasize how incredible that was. A moving mountain! Who could even believe such a thing? "Mountain not supposed to move! Then Troc saw it was not a mountain but a huge man MADE of a mountain!" She let her wings drop and her beak hang open like she was stunned.

Elrond very badly wanted to know exactly where Troc had seen the rock giant but it was apparent that even if Troc could remember the location she would not be able to communicate it well enough for an elf on foot to find it. Not that he was faulting her Westron… she really was an extraordinary corvid to even speak it and he suspected it wasn't her first tongue.

"I would have been quite startled to have seen such a thing myself," Elrond said when it seemed like Troc was waiting for a reaction from him before she continued her story.

She huffed when his reply was so calm. This was exciting scary stuff she was sharing! Why wasn't he reacting more strongly? She pecked angrily at the leftover pressed bean curd on her plate then tossed a piece on the floor where it landed with an unappetizing splut. She tilted her head shrewdly and made a clicking noise. "If Troc used brains mountain could kill the orcksh! Troc smarter than mountain! Troc smarter than orcksh! Troc made a plan.."

Troc posed dramatically with her wings fanned up over her head. "Troc made the best plan ever!"

Elrond found that, despite himself, he had shifted closer to the edge of his seat. It wasn't so much that Troc was a gifted story-teller (she was not) so much as her excitement was infectious. He forced himself to settle back in his chair and smoothed out his robes.

"I hope you will share this plan with me. I am curious how a small bird such as yourself could have attracted the attention of a rock giant."

Troc stared awkwardly at Elrond for a long moment then let her wings drop dramatically and rolled onto her back. "Troc didn't have a plan," she sadly croaked. "Troc too small. Important weed-eater correct."

"Oh," Elrond blinked, not having expected such a twist. "But… why did a mountain throw a rock at you, then, Troc?"

Troc flipped over onto her feet and started hopping around the table with excitement. "Because Troc born with brains! Troc not need make plan! Troc IS plan!" She tipped her head back and cackled, pleased with having fooled Elrond. "Troc is ALWAYS plan!"

Laughter burst forth from Elrond, as well. More and more Troc reminded him of his own children when they were small. Arwen once had told him a deeply unfunny joke about trees and their leaves that he, to this day, still did not understand but that had her rolling around on the floor with laughter. Talking with Troc was a bit like conversing with a child.

"Well then, how did you, Troc, happen to the rock giant? I very much would like to know!"

"Troc did what ravens do! Troc went for the eyes." She kicked a spoon off of the table and jumped back when it made a clatter on the floor. She preened her feathers for a moment to regain her composure then said, 'Troc flew right into the mountain's eye and pecked hard! Like this!" She pecked hard at the table several times in succession, making the dishes rattle. "Peck! Peck! Peck! Stupid mountain couldn't touch Troc because mountain's fingers were too big!" She cackled and mumbled to herself happily. Being able to annoy a mountain and remain untouchable was clearly a high point of her adventure.

"I'd imagine that having its eye pecked made the mountain angry?" Elrond prompted after several minutes of watching Troc strut around the table making pleased noises to herself. She looked surprised at his question, like she had considered her story finished. He resisted the urge to sigh.

"Yes! Yes the mountain was very angry! Troc pecked and called the mountain names! Crag-face! Shaky gravel legs! The mountain followed Troc and threw rocks!" She paused and chortled. "Mountain aim bad! SO bad! Mountain is no weed-eater!"

Elrond inclined his head to accept the… compliment. "Thank you, elves are legendary for their aim. I suppose a raven is a very hard target for a mountain to hit given the difference in your sizes… Please leave my quill alone. No, pleas — look." Elrond reached over to take the feathered quill from Troc and set it on a small side table within arm's reach. "Please, finish your story."

"Story done!" Troc said. "Mountain throw rocks! Some rocks hit mountain with orckcshhhh! Orcksshschch fall or get trapped in cave! Troc fly away." She picked at her toes with her beak then looked hopefully at her dinner plate which had not, miraculously, filled itself with tasty nibbles while she'd been telling her story.

"You're… done? That's it?" Elrond sat back in his chair and stared at Troc who didn't seem to mind. "I can see, Troc, that we need to work on your storytelling skills."

 

**Author's Note:**

> This was difficult to write because I had to ask myself, really, what kind of storyteller would Troc even be? I re-read everything I've written with Troc and my conclusion was; well, this fic. She'd be really focussed on trying to tell the story at first. Then she'd get to the exciting bit and get excited about it! Then... well, that's it. She got what she wanted out of it. She got excited! 
> 
> _Oh, the rest of the story? Yeah, stuff happened. Look, Troc here now, obviously Troc made it out okay what more do you want? Use your own head. CLEARLY TROC WON!_ XD
> 
> The moral of the story is; don't serve pressed bean curds at dinner if you want a good story, _Elrond._


End file.
